Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 09: Biography
Series 05: Board of Trustees
Series 10: Built Environment
Mary Rockwell Hook 1944 Correspondence 
Box 19: 3-27

hook_this_that_ph01 Mary Rockwell Hook at her home in Florida, 1970 at age 93. From “This and That” autobiography.

TAGS: Mary Rockwell Hook, correspondence,1944, Alice Cobb, H.R.S. Benjamin, Mrs. Inghram D. Hook, architecture, architects, donations, Open House, Laurel House II, “This and That” autobiography, Siesta Key, Florida, “Whispering Sands”, interior lighting, sewing classes.

MARY ROCKWELL HOOK 1944 Correspondence
Box 19: 3-27 May 2, 1944 – December 18, 1944

[Note: Letters from PMSS staff in the PMSS Collections are carbon copies, typewritten, unsigned, and meant for the Office files. The original signed copies were sent to the correspondents. Letters from Mary Rockwell Hook are handwritten originals. In 1944 Alice Cobb served as a Secretary to the Director for Pine Mountain Settlement School.] 

001 May 2, 1944. Mary Rockwell Hook to “Miss Alice Cobb (or Office)”. Postcard.
001a May 2, 1944. Message side of postcard to “Alice” from Hook, Whispering Sands, Sarasota, FL. “I am sending a bathing suit I [thought] one of the girls might use and a few summer things wh[ich] some of them might make over or cut up for material in sewing classes.”

002 May 31, 1944. Alice Cobb to Mary Rockwell Hook in Kansas City, MO. Letter.
Contains an enclosure of a PMSS monthly report from the School. Provides PMSS updates concerning Laurel House ventilation, 2×4’s for flooring, West Wind awnings from the COMCO Iron Waterproofing, Laurel House heating. Mentions (Burton) Rogers, (Gladys) Hill, Dr. Bullock’s gift to begin building the tool house.

003 MISSING IMAGE

004-004b September 15, 1944. Mary Rockwell Hook to H.R.S. Benjamin. Letter, 3 pgs from Kansas City.
ok in Kansas City, MO, [004] congratulating him on his first PMSS report to the Board of Trustees. She describes it as “most comprehensive and (containing) heart-warming enthusiasm…. It sounds like an open mind, not at all afraid to look truth in the face.” [004a] “From the very first, you felt that there was a special spirit and an atmosphere there, which is growing too scarce in the world and which must be preserved and cultivated. It’s not an easy post and has many pit-falls but it’s not discouraging because it is so palpably worthwhile.” Hook encloses a contribution and suggests that some of it is used to replace rolling timbers at “my dear little ‘Open House.’” [004b] Miss Wells is arranging a Board meeting in early November and Hook hopes to attend. Thanks Benjamin and his wife for their letters. “…Tell your daughter I am so glad that the good child has a crib.”

005 September 28, 1944.  H.R.S. Benjamin, Director to Mary Rockwell Hook. Letter.
He reports  that the woodwork and repairs man, Mr. (Glenn) LaRue, has determined that Open House requires no major repairs. Small repairs will be made before winter, including a roof leak, the front door stoop, doors, and wooden pillars. He thanks her for her contribution and her praise of the August report. Betty Jane’s son, “Chips,” has a very comfortable crib in the sewing room at Zande House.

006, 007 MISSING IMAGES

008 December 18. 1944. H.R.S. Benjamin, Director to Mary Rockwell Hook. Letter
He and Mrs. Benjamin would like to visit Hook in Florida in the winter. Mentions the poor lighting in various buildings, particularly the living or sitting room of Laurel House. He asks Hook for the address of the supplier of the dining hall fixtures. He also asks if she knows of “any Grounds outline of the general design for locating new buildings…” He hopes she will visit in the spring to discuss repairs and future planning.